7 Tips For Mixing Decorating Styles

Mixing decorating styles in a room makes a room more interesting and attractive. Here are 7 tips for mixing style and doing it right.

Most of us do it. And many of us struggle with how to do it right. I’m talking about mixing decor styles. There are a few tips for mixing decorating styles that will help you mix things up in your home and do it brilliantly! Today let’s chat about mixing decor style and doing it right!

Mixing decor styles is a good thing to do! It makes a room look interesting and unique. With a few savvy and sensible tips, you can be confident about using different styles in your home.

THE 80/20 RULE

Our living room is what I like to call “relaxed elegance”. The mood is relaxed and comfortable. But as a bit of formality and upscale pieces. And it is a mix of three styles. All those styles in one little room? Yes, I’ll show you why…

Many things in this room would be considered Transitional Style. The sofa, the curtains, the spindle chairs, the rug, and the coffee table.

There is also a bit of Farmhouse style too! The white buffet, baskets, tray on the coffee table, and lamp on the buffet

The table next to the sofa is distinctly french. But it’s more of a provincial piece that works well with the rest of the decor in our living room.

Here’s a rule that I use to make the styles in this room work together..

THE 80/20 RULE

The ratio of 80/20 should always be kept in mind when mixing styles in your home. 80% should be one style type, and 20% make up of the rest of the style (s) you lean towards.

Most of us love more than one style and celebrate these styles in the way we decorate our homes. But just like all things, we need to think about a balanced approach to mixing those styles.

Here’s an easy formula that works every time because it has been tried and use for so long with amazing success…

Choose one style to be the predominant style and then add in other styles you love in small doses.

The 80/20 rule is a great rule of thumb and an easy way to remember that about 80 percent of a room should be in one style and 20 percent in others.

You can change the percentages but only a bit! If you want to incorporate three different styles in a room try 70-20-10. Seventy percent can be the dominant style. 20 percent another style and 10 percent another.

And here’s a great tip…

It is easier to mix decor styles if most of your furniture is updated classics. Choose larger or big-ticket items that are classic and accessorize with other decor styles.

CONSISTENT COLOR PALETTE

Using a color palette that is tight will help a space looks more put together and cohesive even when the styles aren’t.

Too many colors and too many decor styles can be a distracting cacophony.  Remember it’s all about mixing decorating styles and you want the styles to play nicely together!

The tighter the color palette the further apart on the decor spectrum your style can stray. Yes, you can have a mid-century modern room with bohemian and farmhouse accents if your room has a very cohesive color palette of three or four colors.

BALANCE

Balance is a keyword when mixing decorating styles in your home. The styles you choose for a room should be distributed throughout the space.

Triangulate, or use an accent style in three different areas of a room.

Who knew decorating was truly a balancing act?

You can read all about the DECOR ELEMENT OF BALANCE AND HOW IT WILL HELP YOU BE A BETTER DECORATOR HERE.

Balance should be carried to the floor and the walls as well. Use rugs, flooring, wall decor, and shelving to balance the styles in the room.

FOCAL POINT 

Every room needs a focal point. It’s the first thing that our eyes rest on when we come into a room. A focal point sets the tone for the entire room!

Use a wow factor item, the largest piece of furniture in the room or an unusual item be the focal point in the space. By establishing the focus, you can easily place other complementary pieces throughout the room to create a perfect mix of decor styles.

Yes, this really works… and works like a charm. If you have an outlier piece of furniture it can be the focus of a room and the rest of the room built around it.

I have a friend who had a huge Italian stone mantel and wanted to bring it into her living room. At a glance, it did not look like it belonged alongside her mix of traditional classics and French country. But when it was placed in her living room on her longest wall it created a focal point for the rest of the furniture to be built out from.

BUDDY UP WHEN MIXING DECORATING STYLES

Accent decor pieces should have a  “buddy” so the space in a room feels balanced and cohesive. They can be matched based on color, shape, size, or overall style. Feel free to play around with the placement of decor and smaller pieces until you see the space fitting your personal style.

SAME VIBE

Nothing will throw a room into confusion like mixing the mood of a room. If the room is casual keep the elements in it casual.  Juxtaposition has its place in decor and does work successfully in a room with different styles. But for a less than seasoned decorator, it might be hard to pull off.

If you want a no-fail approach to mixing decorating styles keep the mood of the furnishings the same. 

If your room is beachy and breezy keep things beachy or neutral. No moose heads and seashells. Got the idea?

PILLOWS BRIDGE DECOR STYLES

Pillows are your friend when mixing decorating styles! They are everyone’s favorite and can not only add style but color to a room. And it’s so much easier to mix in pillows with a different style than furniture!

Pillows can get away with breaking a whole lot of decor rules. And they can also bring together many styles too! Make sure to incorporate pillows into every room!

THE LAST WORD

Most of us have homes that share more than one or two decor styles. And guess what? That makes our rooms and homes so much more interesting and personalized!

Just follow these simple rules when mixing decorating style that works together and look fabulous!

You might like these decorating posts…

• THE RULE OF THREE
• HOW TO CREATE A FOCAL POINT FOR A BEAUTIFUL ROOM
• 5 BIG DECORATING MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM
• VISUAL WEIGHT IN DECORATING